rs-met updates Straightliner to v1.1

rs-met has released version 1.1 of Straightliner, a straight-lined subtractive synthesizer in a modern guise.

You will find the well known building blocks of classic analog synthesizers (4 oscillators, a filter, 2 envelope generators) patched together in the traditional way. What sets it apart from the sheer mass of other subtractive (also often called virtual analog) synthesizers is, that it does not attempt to emulate analog synthesizers with all their physically imposed limitations. Instead, Straightliner takes full advantage of the extended possibilities that sofware based synthesis offers.

Les Productions Zvon has released a free bank (25 waveforms and 33 presets) for Straighliner.

The waveforms are all originals from Les Productions Zvon and they all have an acoustic origin. Their names are pretty explicit, for instance “MB Horn” is for Marching Band Horn. The only samples that were processed before making the single cycle waveforms are the “JR” ones, where “JR” stands for Julie Resynth as they are taken from that set, and the “Photon female voc 01″ which was processed in Psychic Modulation Photon softsynth.

Download the free bank here.

rumba_codex

This is a really special sounding synth. This is not a VA instrument as such but it does have a richness and purity which is unusual. It took me a few weeks of playing around with the demo to realise this before making the final purchase.

The beauty of the design is that the tones it produces might not seem all that wild or glamorous or at first (in the sense of what Sylenth1, Zebra and Nexus can produce) but they blend so well with other electronic and acoustic instruments.

And thank God there are no on-board FX (the bane of my life).

It also sounds superb (as in alive, full bodied) re-amped through good quality iron / or simply played live through powered studio monitors.

For it’s price, Straightliner offers the best set of synth building blocks I’ve seen yet.

In a word, excellence, live from 13051 Berlin.

PS: Also check out Robin’s Echolab (again a straight forward but lovely sounding echo/delay FX plug) and his freeware as well – particularly the CPU efficient Easy-Q.